Universo
The head has long been understood as a powerful point of transformation. Across cultures, it can stand for the human being as a whole, the noblest part of the body, and a sacred point of connection. As the Source of thought, perception and consciousness, it shapes our experience of the world.
A headdress acts directly on the body. Through its form, dimensions, materials or the way it is worn, it can alter silhouette, posture and movement; it can conceal, enhance or transform our appearance, changing how we inhabit the body and how we are perceived by others. These physical shifts can also change how we feel, our sense of presence and awareness, and our relationship to what surrounds us.
This capacity to alter both body and perception allows the headdress to operate beyond appearance. At a deeper level, it can become an instrument through which we experience our relationship with ourselves, with the world and with what lies beyond the visible.
In my work, I approach the headdress as a device for transformation, a threshold between body, perception and something larger than ourselves. When worn and embodied, each piece creates a space to align and connect.
Bio
Nikole Tursi is an Argentinian artist based in London. Her work begins with an interest in the moment an object stops being something we wear and starts becoming something we inhabit.
Rooted in millinery, her practice has grown into a broader artistic language. Guided by an impulse to translate sensations, visions, dreams and experiences into physical form, she works intuitively through materials, craftsmanship and experimentation. Each piece can become the beginning of a wider story, extending through image, movement, sound, space and collaboration.
At the heart of her work is a desire to shift perception and create moments of reconnection. In a world that often distances us from the landscape around us, from the ground beneath us and the sky above, her artefacts invite us to sense ourselves differently, as part of something larger.
Alongside her own projects, she has worked with international fashion houses including Burberry and Givenchy, as well as stage productions and institutions such as Teatro Colón and the Royal Opera House.
Her work has been recognised by Comité Colbert, UNESCO and the Argentine Public Media System. She is a member of the Michelangelo Foundation, the British Hat Guild, the Royal Ascot Millinery Collective and the Crafts Council UK.
Led by curiosity about the unknown, her practice continues to evolve through the exploration of esoteric traditions and diverse cosmologies.